DOODLING

I've always been a perfectionist; even my year 3 maths teacher said so. I just thought I was slow and not very good at maths, but apparently I was just spending that time ensuring my answers were immaculate. Taking lots of time to get everything right is great, but with it comes anxiety and stress... I can't leave something unless I think it's just so, no matter how long I've been working on it, and if I'm not very good at something then to me it is simply not worth doing. I quit.

Not only am I a perfectionist, but I'm also a control freak, so the fact that there are many things out of my control happening in my life lately has been making me more anxious than ever. I'm like a cat: I may look cool as a cucumber, but actually inside my own head I'm jumping somersaults and my brain is racing around, trying to think of solutions to every problem under the sun.

People have different ways of dealing with these feelings: usually exercise (I lose interest quickly), eating (I feel rotten afterwards), or drinking (just not a good idea, really). But finally - finally after 27 years of being a bit of a neurotic - I think I've cracked it. Drawing, painting and scrapbooking. Lately I've been sat with my sketchbook for hours, happy just to make nice colours and shapes, not really caring whether something gets totally finished or if I'm not all that good at it. Because it just doesn't matter, and I like that. I like it when my hands get covered in rainbow pastels and when the paint is too watery and runs, and there's not a damn thing I can do to stop it.

I'm happy even just doodling hearts and smudging chalk. If that's what I fancy doing that day, I do it.

I may spend the rest of my time writing lists, bossing people, and generally doing things at a hundred miles an hour, but I know when I sit with my sketchbook I'm slowing life down and doing something just for me.

What do you do to chill out? Do you ever feel like life is running away with you..?

KEEPING WARM

Whilst most were busy searching for the shiniest, sexiest, most sequinned dress to wear to their work's Christmas party, I was more concerned about piling on the layers and keeping warm. We don't like to do things the normal way at my place of employment so our Christmas do was spent hanging out, drinking mulled wine and eating Nutella crepes at the Manchester Christmas markets. Far better for conversational purposes anyway; we laid down our plans for the next year, which involved everything from going to the zoo and travelling around Thailand, to making babies. Go figure which plan was mine.

This outfit is faintly ridiculous, but it did keep me warm. Too warm in fact: believe it or not after my second mulled wine I was considering taking my coat off. Just considering, mind you. It was also my first opportunity to wear this Jay Kay-esque hat I've had hanging round for a while. I can't even remember where it came from - an elder family member, or charity shop? - but my Blossom moment certainly was pivotal in maintaining my snug temperature.

The heart bag adds a well needed pop of colour to this outfit - I first saw it on Sara but became obsessed with the idea of a heart clutch after seeing the How Two Live sisters rocking one. This finally came up on eBay last week so I snapped it up.. for a mere £2.10. Gotta love that website.

I'm wearing: 

Vintage hat 

Charity shop shirt

H&M jumper 

Evil Twin kimono (just seen.. it's the fringing) 

H&M coat

MiH Marrakesh jeans

Topshop clogs

Topshop heart bag
Hippy shop necklace

FLANNELS CREATES FOR THE CHRISTIE

This year British super-indie Flannels turns 35. Hooray! And what do you do when you have a big birthday? You have a big party, of course. Flannels' party was so big that it actually felt like a festival: with the eclectic sound of The Jessie Rose Trip playing inside the Flannels store; the jangly, Paul Simon-influenced Crookes playing on The Oast House's outside stage; and a DJ playing tunes inside the Oast House's tipi (yeah, a tipi. In the middle of Manchester's financial quarter. Why not?) - missing were the Christmas classics and the Bublé, replaced by Grimes and SBTRKT. Pretty cool.

Undoubtedly the stars of the show though were the mannequins especially created for Flannels' 35th birthday. Fourteen were auctioned last night in aid of The Christie, the largest cancer centre in Europe, which is based in Manchester. Cancer research in Manchester has been officially ranked best in the UK and this work impacts the rest of the world, too. Flannels aim to raise £50,000 for the Christie, and with the help of the evening's very generous attendees all the mannequins sold, ranging from £200 up to £3000 for the Stone Island mannequin. My favourite was the very pink and floral Matthew Williamson bust - signed by the designer himself - which reached £1,400.

Another 26 mannequins are being auctioned online until 9th December, and these include megabrands  Dolce & Gabbana, Gucci and Burberry, plus some quirky up-and-comings such as Emma Cook and Raoul. Snap up an investment whilst also doing good, or you can donate whatever you can directly to The Christie.

What would your mannequin look like? Mine would be a mix of orange and burgundy Indian silks with lots of sequins and fringing, and maybe an elephant knocking about somewhere.

Once again I find myself urging the multi-retailers of the world to be inspired by these actions. If a small business can raise £50,000 for charity - just think what the big boys could achieve.

I'm wearing:

Oasis dress (my work uniform!)

Miista boots

Fashion and junk food. Story of my life

ELIZA VALE

Eliza Vale is a quirky handmade jewellery brand designed by the Manchester-born, Dublin-based Katie Townend. Named after her great-grandmother, the brand launched in Autumn 2011 and is an eclectic mix of materials and techniques, including Swarovski crystals, silk, leather, cross-stitch and embroidery.

The current Eliza Vale collection is inspired by the 1920s - The Great Gatsby, flappers, and art deco. What I  like best about the collection is that the pieces can be worn by any woman, of any age, and any style. The jewellery fits my modern take on 1970s bohemian, as well as it would work for my mum and her leopard print and jeans groove. It also clearly is fabulous for the customers of Black White Denim, as the independent boutique have recently restocked the jewels due to popular demand. Black White Denim kindly lent me some of the pieces over the weekend, and as I played around with styling I found them to be totally versatile.

What do you do when you've been lent a bunch of precious jewellery.. wear it with your normal clothes? Well, yeah, actually. I'd wear the Roulette set in the daytime with a luxe tee. In fact skinny trousers, t-shirt and jazzy jacket is my go-to got-up-late outfit - the addition of some interesting neck jangle lifts the entire look from snore to ROAR. See, some days I can't even stay awake on my feet (as evidenced below) let alone choose a stylish outfit.

H&M via charity shop leopard coat

Prophecy kimono

Urban Outfitters t-shirt

Oasis pleather trousers

Topshop boots

BCBG Max Azria & Topshop rings

Eliza Vale necklace & cuff

Look closely and you'll see tiny specks of glitter trapped inside the clear acrylic jewels.. you could say the glitter is a metaphor for Daisy Buchanan, trapped in her marriage to Tom, stationary in her melancholy life. OR you could just say it looks real purty. Up to you!

So there you go, a glittery glam necklace casual-fied. But I'm not one to miss an opportunity to dress up, so I donned my very best Lanvin <3 H&M ballgown along with a Wildfox tee - see, they go with everything - to showcase the Tyto neckpiece. I channeled my inner Madonna and did a bit of a dance on my tie-dye bed much to my boyfriend's amusement.. or should that be bemusement? Whatever, I enjoyed myself.

Wildfox tee

Lanvin <3 H&M dress

Pretty Polly tights

River Island hand chain

Eliza Vale necklace (in-store)

The pieces would make a fab Christmas present for any lady in your life, and Eliza Vale is currently exclusive in the UK to Black White Denim. You can check out their selection online or in the Wilmslow store.

QUALITY STREET

As we inch ever-closer to Christmas, going out dressed as a tin of Quality Street seems more and more socially acceptable. Not that I normally care about that, but sometimes it is nice to not get stared at like some sort of fashion freak. This skirt was a bargain Topshop sale buy about four years ago which has been hidden in my mum's wardrobe for quite some time now; I'm not sure what made me remember it but I suddenly desperately wanted to wear it again. Cue rushing back to my parents' to rifle through their cupboards. I've recently had a fair bit of luck when charity shopping - resulting from a impromptu trip to Crewe, which has a distinct lack of hipster rummagers that cities suffer from - which is where this sumptuous velvet shirt came from. I've worn it two days in a row now and can see it being worn often over the winter, layered over and under summer dresses.

I'm surprised I feel well enough to be sat up typing this today, as last night I wore this outfit to hit one of Manchester's more raucous nightspots, Keko Moku. It's a tiny dive bar in the middle of the Northern Quarter; so small you could easily walk past without noticing were it not for the revelers spilling out onto the pavement. Somehow there's still enough room to get your dance on, but sadly our moves were not appreciated and my pal was stickered with "Worst Dancer". Their selection of tunes is second to none, no detail has been spared in their tiki-style decoration, and their cocktails the tastiest (and most alcoholic) in the city. I award this joint a resounding 11/10.

Wait, eleven out of ten? Maybe I feel so well because I'm still drunk.

I'm wearing:

Marks & Spencer via charity shop shirt

Topshop skirt

Vintage necklace

Topshop, Oasis & BCBG Max Azria ring

Miista boots

PS. Drink responsibly, you guys.

B-RAINBOW

If you could take a screen shot of your brain I'm pretty sure mine would look a lot like this right now.

I'm not on acid, I promise.. I'm just trying to distract myself from the two essays and large amount of Clothes Show prep work I have to do before December. Eeek.